Psychcorp Award: GE Gags Scientist Who Exposed Danger of Its Product

by Heidi Stevenson

20 December 2009

Corporations that demonstrate their willingness to engage in a scorched earth policy to protect sales of their products are honored with the Psycho Corporation Award. General Electric (GE) is a deserving winner for its use of Britain's draconian libel law to silence a scientist who exposed the truth that its product, Omniscan, is killing people.

Omniscan is an agent injected into the blood system in conjunction with MRIs to increase their contrast, making them more easily read. As has been documented by a study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the primary ingredient, gadolinium, can cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney disease.⁽¹⁾ NSF is an incurable and often fatal disorder that makes the skin swell, thicken, and slowly tighten. Victims can become wheelchair-bound.

One victim of NSF, Celeste Castillo, testified at an FDA hearing about the effects on her. She describes it as "agony". The swelling started in her ankles, spread to the rest of her limbs, and the disease has attacked her inner body. Her bones feel like they're in a vice. She says, "It's actually a torture."

The torture of NSF is a new disease with only one known cause: gadolinium contrast used in MRIs.

Dr. Thomsen's Investigation

Dr. Thomsen, who now directs the diagnostic services department of the University of Copenhagen, gave a talk in Oxford, England, two years ago about a medical "nightmare" he and others had documented in the hospital where he then worked. Twenty patients had contracted NSF, and they had all been given MRIs with Omniscan. The last slide in his presentation read, "I hope none of you meets a similar medical hurricane."

Thomsen launched an investigation into the cause of NSF. After alerting authorities in his country, Denmark, he looked into cases around the world. He found that all of them had received the contrast agent, gadolinium, and that about 90% had received GE's Omniscan.

Gadolinium is known to be toxic, but it has been sold as a contrast agent because it's supposedly tightly bound in the form given to patients. However, there are differences among the products available. Omniscan and one other product appear to be flushed from the system in people with healthy kidneys. However, anyone with renal problems is at risk.

Reactions to the Risk

Denmark sent a notice to doctors in 2006, informing them of the risks associated with Omniscan. Many relatives of Danish patients filed claims with the government insurance agency that deaths were caused by it. The insurance agency has ruled in at least one case that a woman's death from and embolism was caused by immobilization that resulted from Omniscan-induced NSF.

The UK has acknowledged the receipt of reports on 20 cases of NSF in patients given Omniscan. The Commission on Human Medicines has advised doctors not to use GE's Omniscan, Bayer's Magnevist, or Covidien's Optimark at all, and that other gadolinium-bearing products be used only if it's essential.

In November, European regulators suggested that patients' kidneys should be checked before receiving MRIs with gadolinium contrast. The US's FDA is now considering such a recommendation. While it has put out a safety notice, GE has been able to keep it from classifying Omniscan as particularly risky or to point out that the risk is associated only with patients whose renal systems are impaired.

Thomsen's reward for speaking out and warning people of the risks of Omniscan and other gadolinium products is to be gagged by GE and forced to defend himself, at enormous cost and time, against an obviously frivolous lawsuit by GE claiming that he has defamed the corporation.

GE Sues Thomsen

Unfortunately, in the UK the laws are such that it's very difficult to defend against a libel or slander lawsuit. The burden is on the accused to prove that the suer's claims are false! Even worse, the accused who loses a case may be forced to pay the suer's court and attorney costs. So, GE is suing Thomsen in the UK for defamation.

Not only that, he is also being sued for an article published in a Belgian journal, Imaging Management, that refers to rumors that GE had been warned about risks associated with Omniscan. Thomsen stated categorically that he didn't "write or publish" the article.

GE has spent over $600,000 in pressing the lawsuit against Thomsen, a respected clinician who has authored more than 400 papers and is a much-desired speaker. Thomsen has stated clearly, "I believe that the lawsuit is an attempt to silence me."

GE, A Psychotic Corporation

The Psycho Corporation Award has been presented to those companies that lead the way in destruction of health and the environment. In its struggle for stature, GE has discovered a new approach, a new method of intimidation. Going to another country to use its courts and laws to silence those who might speak out against its product is a stroke of brilliance.

Gaia Health is pleased to present the latest glistening award to GE!